Knee and hip length waterproof boots intended to be worn over shoes or boots are known in the prior art. See, for example, the following patents:
______________________________________ PATENT ISSUE NO. DATE INVENTOR TITLE ______________________________________ 1,264,123 Apr. 23, 1918 Pepper WADING BOOT 1,312,781 Aug. 12, 1919 Flannery BOOT 1,717,690 June 18, 1929 Ihnen TRANSPARENT FOLDABLE FOOTWEAR 3,017,705 Jan. 23, 1962 Peters FOOT AND LEG APPAREL ARTICLE 4,376,344 Mar. 15, 1983 Kimsey INSULATED BOOT BLANKET 4,516,336 May 14, 1984 Nissenbaum PROTECTIVE OVERSHOE ______________________________________
The boots shown by Pepper and Flannery are undesirably heavy and cumbersome for carrying when not in use.
The boots shown in the patents to Ihnen, Peters, and Kimsey are undesirably fragile for walking in woodlands and wetlands such as encountered while hunting and fishing.
Kimsey's boot is an insulative boot intended for use while the wearer is in a sedentary position such as occupying a deer stand or sitting in a cold stadium watching a football game. The Kimsey boots are relevant to the present invention only because they are carried to the place where they will be used. Unlike the waders of the present invention, they are not used while walking.
Nissenbaum shows a protective overshoe with collapsible body and leg portions made of plastic or plastic covered fabric and held in place on the user by elastic bands encircling the body portion of the overshoe after it is drawn on the user's foot and leg. The Nissenbaum protective overshoe is structured and used for urban wear with reinforced heel and sole to provide durable but heavy soles for walking. The leg portion is fragile and is not suitable for use in rough terrain and wading streams. The bulbous and fragile leg portions would be subject to being torn by brambles and the like if used in the woods.